There’s an argument to be made that no conference has seen more change in the last six months than the CHA. In the 2023-24 season, they welcome Robert Morris back into the fold after a two year absence. Several of the league’s teams have seen major roster turnover. Lindenwood has a fully new coaching staff and every school was able to add a fourth paid assistant this season. Some big names departed – including several that transferred within the conference – and there are a number of players returning for their fifth year of eligibility.
All that upheaval makes it difficult to know how CHA teams will stack up nationally or how the conference standings will shake out. Penn State won their second regular-season championship before capturing their first CHA Tournament crown, giving them their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. But they lost a lot to the transfer portal and graduation and I am really intrigued by Mercyhurst, so I’m picking the Lakers to win the conference title.
Lindenwood
Last Season
5-27, 5-11 (fourth). Lost to Penn State in the opening round of the CHA tournament.
Names to Know
Morgan Neitzke is the only skater to have reached double digits in goals and assists – she lead the team with 29 points.
What To Watch For
Coach Shelley Looney was let go at the end of last season after amassing an 18-115-7 record over four seasons. Taylor Wasylk takes over after several seasons at the helm of DIII Suffolk University. Wasylk and her staff have a tough hill to climb. The Lions have never finished above fourth in the conference in 11 years as a member.
Lindenwood has struggled mightily on defense for several seasons and that simply has to be the focus before anything else. They were 41st out of 42 teams last season, allowing 4.53 goals per game. They also continue to be one of the most penalized teams in the nation. The new staff has to find a way to get this team disciplined and playing cleaner so they can focus on the fundamentals and not spend so much time playing shorthanded.
This is a pretty experienced team, with a small incoming class and solid returners. There’s a base to build off here.
Crystal Ball
The Lions haven’t been able to find their footing or create much to build on over the past few seasons and that makes it difficult to move up in the standings. I have them fifth.
Mercyhurst
Last Season
21-14-2, 12-3-2 (second). Lost to Penn State in overtime in the CHA Tournament championship game.
Names to know
Sara Boucher led the team with 21 assists and 38 points. After a stellar rookie year, Vanessa Upson regressed a bit as a sophomore. If this team is going to come together and succeed, I think they need her to find her equilibrium and step up as a leader this season.
Goalie Ena Nystrøm, defender Sydney Pedersen and forward Sara Boucher were named to the preseason all-CHA team. Freshman Henlee Mahoney was named preseason co-Rookie-of-the-Year.
Sofia Ljung was part of the U18 Sweden team that upset the US in the semifinals. She showed a sense for clogging lanes, shutting down passes and not letting players get a free look at the net. I’m excited to see what she brings to the Lakers this season.
What To Watch For
Mercyhurst is definitely the most intriguing-on-paper team coming into this season. They’ve been impressive the past two seasons with a younger roster. Now that those players are more experienced, Mike Sisti has brought in a rookie class with players from Denmark, Finland and Sweden alongside St. Cloud State transfer Olivia Cvar. I like the size of this team and expect them to be tough to battle along the boards and shoulder to shoulder. They finished just five points behind Penn State last season and I think it’s going to be a closer fight this year.
The Lakers played four games in Sweden in July, including taking the National Team to shootout and a narrow 2-1 loss. The trip should have been incredibly important to their team bonding and gelling as well as building confidence and obviously that kind of exposure only improves recruiting efforts in the future.
Crystal Ball
I don’t actually think this is that controversial, but I’m going to pick Mercyhurst to win the conference.
Penn State
Last Season
27-9-2, 14-1-1 (first). Qualified for their first-ever NCAA Tournament. Lost to Quinnipiac in triple overtime in the first round.
Names to know
Tessa Janecke was the USCHO and HCA Rookie of the Year. Her standout season saw her breaking all the program records for freshman including single season points, assists and goals while tying for the national lead among newcomers with 47 points. She is going to need to be even better while drawing a bigger portion of defense’s attention now that the five other leading scorers from last year’s team have either transferred or graduated.
Grad transfer defenders Maggie MacEachern and Alva Johnsson should be dynamic additions to the Penn State blue line. Johnsson is tall and uses her long reach well. Both are skilled at blocking shots and forcing turnovers to create breakouts in the other direction.
What to Watch For
Last season, the Nittany Lions announced they were for real with a season-opening win over #2/3 (and eventual national champions) Wisconsin. They added wins over UMD, Boston College, St. Lawrence, Brown and Boston University. Those were crucial to keeping Penn State in the rankings and had they lost their conference tournament, would have given the tournament selection committee a lot to think about. Coach Jeff Kampersal continues to stack their non-conference schedule, this time opening at #5 Northeastern. They’ll also play Colgate, Cornell and Yale before the season is over.
Penn State is no longer off anyone’s radar and they don’t bring the same pace and talent they had with Kiara Zanon and Olivia Wallin on the roster. It’s a very different game when you come back as the champion and all your opponents know what kind of weapons you have. They’ll need some players to really step up and meet the talent Janecke brings to give her room to make plays and shoot the puck.
Crystal Ball
I would not be at all surprised to see Penn State win again, but based on how much offensive firepower they lost, I’m going to need to see how they adjust and who steps up to support Janecke before I believe they can topple Mercyhurst. I have them second.
RIT
Last Season
4-26-2, 1-13-2 (fifth). Did not qualify for the CHA tournament.
Names to know
Junior Sarah Coe gives RIT a foundation and the opportunity to begin to be more aggressive offensively. The improvement in her stat line from over the past two seasons is a credit to her, but also shows how the team in front of her has gotten better. She faced nearly 100 fewer shots, gave up 23 fewer goals, averaging 1.23 fewer goals against per game, all while playing 115 more minutes. The defense in front of her improved and she rose to the occasion. Those are the things the Tigers can build on and look to on the really hard days to know that the work they are putting in is paying off.
What to Watch For
The Tigers have shown the ability to grow and improve over the course of a season under Celeste Brown. They doubled their wins from last season and cut their opponents average margin of victory in half during the second part of the season. The goal now is to start that progression much earlier and find ways to turn a few of their eight one-goal losses into ties or wins. I love how they battled back time and again last season, keeping opponents much closer in the second game of a series. It says a lot about their determination and that grit serves them well. There’s room for them to take down teams within this conference and build confidence and momentum.
Crystal Ball
With just one conference win last season, I think RIT remains sixth until we see a little more from them.
Robert Morris
Last Season
The Colonials are returning to play after a two year hiatus when the university attempted to cut the program.
Names to know
Six women – Mya Neugent, Calli Arnold, Allyson Hebert, Gillian Thompson, Wasyn Rice and Maggie Hatch – are returning to the ice with RMU this year. They stuck it out, trained together last season after the program was reestablished and form the core of the new Colonials program. They’re joined by Chace Sperling, who transferred to St. Cloud State for two seasons, but returns to her original home at RMU. Sperling, Hebert, Thompson and Rice were part of the 2021 team that won the CHA Championship. With a team comprised of nine rookies and nine transfers, these six are going to be so important to establishing culture, creating a team and setting the basis the program will build on from here on out.
What to Watch For
It seems likely Robert Morris is going to experience some growing pains as they refind their footing and bring this program back to campus. It’s been an incredibly tumultuous few years and it’s difficult to trust the university and the athletic department at this point. Players have to be able to compartmentalize and play the games without the worry and the history bearing down on them too much.
The Colonials have what looks to be a friendly final month of the season and will need to make sure they’re winning the winnable games while stealing some points from the likes of Mercyhurst and Penn State.
Crystal Ball
It’s kind of impossible to get a handle on the Colonial’s ceiling after not playing last season, so I have them fourth.
Syracuse
Last Season
10-24-2, 6-9-1 (third). Lost to Mercyhurst in the CHA semifinals.
Names to know
Sarah Thompson is the lone top scorer returning to Syracuse this season. She led the team with 14 goals and was second with 24 points. She’ll be surrounded by new linemates, but will need to be the leader of this offense, particularly early on.
Sophomore Maya D’Arcy was a CHA All-Rookie Team selection last season and the team needs her to be an even bigger part of the defense this year. She’s smart in front of the puck, solid at blocking shots and plays bigger than her size. She could be one of the breakout stars on this team this year.
What to Watch For
With four freshmen, six incoming transfers and a total of eight graduate or fifth year players, it’s safe to say that there’s been a lot of upheaval in Syracuse. Second-year coach Britni Smith has certainly made her mark on the Orange, working to set up her team with the players she thinks can help them win. Five of the team’s top six scorers either graduated or left the program. The Orange averaged 2.2 goals for and 3.3 goals against last season. The defense has to be better than that, but the lack of scoring before they lost most of their offensive threats does not bode well. They need some new players to take on bigger roles and step up, but from a player perspective, it’s a difficult balance to be trying to gel with the team and create cohesion while also taking on more and looking to stand out. How the team and players navigate that is going to decide if they are successful this season.
The Orange also have a question mark in net. Arielle DeSmet leaves some big pads to fill. They brought in transfer Allie Kelley from Saint Anselm as well as freshman Bella Gould and return Amelia Van Vliet, who has a few starts in three years, appearing in just 12 games. Locking into a start or tandem early could go a long way to establishing the defense and creating that solid back to build out from.
Crystal Ball
The Orange had one of the most active offseasons, with 11 players coming or going from last year’s roster. They’re also adding four rookies and are in coach Britni Smith’s second season. Team cohesion is important for everyone, but I think it will be extra necessary for Syracuse to be successful. I’ll put them third for now.
